“We cannot allow fear and paranoia to drive our public policy, especially when it comes to the defining values of our country,” said Congressman Don Beyer, the lawmaker behind the move to introduce the Religious Freedom Bill.
Beyer has been able to cobble together a coalition of as many as 70 lawmakers - mostly from the Democratic party, and a few from the Republican party - to back the legislation. The bill gained support of over 100 ethnic and minority groups, including from Indian-American communities.